Seed-planter and cultivator.



No. 652,284. Patented lime 26, 1900.

m. B. MILLER.

SEED PLANTEB AND CULTIVATOR.

(Application filed Mat. 12, 1900.]

{No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 652,284. Patented lune 26, I900. M. B. MILLER.

SEED PLANTER AND CULTIVATOR;

(Application filed Mar. 113, 1900.)

(N0 Modem 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

1; NITED STATES MARGRETTE B. MILLER, OF ALPIIABA, MISSISSIPPI.

SEED-PLANTER AND CULTIVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 652,284, dated June 26,1900.

Application filed March 12, 1900. Serial No. 8,350. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, MARGRETTE B. MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Alphaba, in the county of De Soto and State of Mississippi,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seed-Planters andCultivators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to machines for planting seed-such as corn, cotton,peas, broomcorn, and the like-the object of the invention being tosimplify, cheapen, and render such machines more effective and easy inoperation.

With this object in View my invention consists in a machine of the classdescribed, the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts ofwhich will be hereinafter f nll y described and the particular points ofnovelty therein specifically set forth in the claims appended to thisspecification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of aplanter constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is afragmentary perspective View, on an enlarged scale, of a part of theframe and seedbox, parts being broken away to more clearly illustratethe invention. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on a longitudinalVertical plane, parts being broken away. Fig. 4 is a detail perspectiveView of the drop-bar slide detached from the machine.

Like numerals of reference mark the same parts Wherever they occur inthe several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, 1 and 2 indicate the sides, and 3and 4 the front and rear cross-bars, respectively, of the main frame ofthe planter.

5 indicates theltongue or draft-pole, secured to the frontof the frameinits central longitudinal plane and properly braced by means of plates 6and 7, extending diagonally from the outer front corners of the mainframe to the draft-beam 5 and secured at their ends by means of rivets,bolts, or other suitable fasteners.

8 indicates the seedbox or hopper, mounted upon and supported by thefront crossbar 3 of the main frame, the draft-beam 5, and the braces 6and 7, said braces being let into the upper surface of the main frameand draftbeam, as best shown in Fig. 2, in order to afford a flush flatsurface upon which to support said seedbox. The seedbox extendsrearwardly beyond the cross-bar 3 of the frame and is provided with afurther support for its overhanging rear portion, consisting of diagonalbrace-bars 9, secured at their respective ends to the side bars andfront crossbar of the frame and also let into said bars to bring theupper surface of the braces and bars flush with each other, as beforedescribed.

Secured within the feed-box and extending through and beyond its rearend 10 are.guide bars 11 and 12, which are rabbeted in their lower innercorners in order to form, with the bottom 13 of the feed-box, a slidewayfor the feed-slide 14, which slide extends rearwardly beyond the boX andis pivotally connected to a pitman 15 on a crank 16 of a shaft 17,journaled in bearings 18, secured upon the top of the side bars 1 and 2of the main frame. Upon the shaft 17 is secured a sprocket-wheel 19,which is connected by a drive-chain 20 with a sprocket-wheel 21 on theaxle 22, which carries the traction or supportingwheels 44 of theplanter.

Within the seedbox and straddling the guide-bars 11 and 12 is a crossbar23, its central lower portion being cut away in order to providepassage-room to accommodate said guide-bars, and a block 24 is providedto close the space between the lower face of this bar, the inner sidesof the guide-bars, and the upper face of the feed-slide 14:,- the use ofwhich will be hereinafter described. The feed-slide is provided with anopening 25, near its forward end, extending entirely through it and solocated that when the slide is forward this .opening will form a pocketto receive a porimmediately above a spout 26, through which the seedcontained in the pocket is permitted to drop to the earth. The frontwall of the spout 26 consists of a shovel or cultivatortooth 27, securedto the under side of the front cross-bar 3 of the main frame, while therest of the spout is formed in a block or casting 28, which is securedto the draft-beam 5 and to the front of which the'shovel or tooth 27 isalso secured. This shovel or tooth 27 being in advance of the spout andextending below its lower end, opens a small furrow to receive the seed,and the seed when dropped therein are covered by shovels or teeth 29 and30, secured to the bottom of the side beams 1 and 2 of the main frame bymeans of brackets 31 and bolts or other suitable fastenings 32.

In orderthat the feed-slide 14': in its fOP'h ward motion mayefiiciently perform its neces sary function of sliding under the seedcontained in the seedbox without obstruction to the slide or injury tothe seed, its forward end is cut away centrally insubstantiallysemicircular form, as at 33, the walls of the semicircularnotch thus formed being inclined upward and outward, as at 34. Theresult of this construction is that when the slide moves forward theseed will ride over these inclined walls, being guided by them to thelongitudinal center of the slide and caused to drop over the rear wallof the notch into the pocket 25. By this construction there is noimpediment to the forward movement of the slide, no squared ends tostrike against, bruise, mash, or damage the seed, and a full supply isalways furnished to the pocket.

35 and 36 indicate the handles, which are suitably secured at theirforward ends upon the upper faces of the side bars 1 and 2 of the mainframe and are supported near their rear ends by uprights 37 and 38,which uprights are provided with horizontal flanges 39 and 40 at theirlower ends, secured in any suitable manner upon the top of the rear endsof the side barsof the frame.

41 and 42 indicate fiat bars secured beneath the side bars 1 and 2 ofthe frame at their rear ends and extending rearwardly and downwardly, asshown in Fig. 1, their lower ends being connected by a cross-bar 43,which in the forward movement of the planter smooths the ground andfinishes the proper covering of the seed.

The shovels or teeth 29 and 30 may be arranged to throw the earth inwardto cover the seed dropped through the spout 26, or

their function may simply be to cultivate the ground on either side ofthe planted rows, leaving the covering entirely to the rear covering-bar43.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that I have provided aplanter of the class described in which a minimum number of simple andeconomically-constructed parts are used and in which the variousfunctions of the machine are performed with the least possible frictionand exertion of power.

Having thus described'my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, iS-

1. A seed-planter,comprising a rectangular frame, handles secured attheir forward ends to the side bars of said frame, uprights havinghorizontal flanges at their lower ends secured to the rear ends of saidside bars and supporting said handles, a draft-beam centrally secured tothe front cross-bar of the frame, diagonal braces let into the uppersurface of the front ends of the side bars of the frame and of thedraft-beam, parallel diagonal braces let into the upper surface of theside bars and front bar of the frame and the draft-beam, and a feed-boxsupported upon the flush upper surfaces of the front bar of the frame,thediagonal sets of braces and the draft-beam, substantially asdescribed.

2. A planter comprising a main frame having longitudinal sidebars andfront and rear cross-bars, a draft-beam centrally secured upon the frontcross-beam, flush braces connecting the draft-bar with the front cornersof the frame, a seedbox mounted upon the flush surfaces of the frame anddraft-beam 9 and the braces, a slide adapted to reciprocate in thefeed-box, and a spout located to register with the slide in its rearmostposition, said spout being formed in a block or casting secured belowthe draft-beam and having its front side open, and a shovel or toothsecured to the lower face of the front cross-bar of the frame and tosaid block or casting, substantially as described.

3. In a planter, a feed-slide provided with a notch or recess in itsforward end, the wallsof which are inclined outward and backward, andwith a suitable opening or pocket in the rear of said walls,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

MARGRETTE B. MILLER.

Witnesses:

J. D. HARRISON, T. B. MILLER.

ICC

